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Grappletail

Octogomphus

specularis

A member of the family Gomphidae (“Clubtail” dragonflies). The name is derived from the club-like widening of the end of the abdomen (though this feature is not as pronounced in females and may be absent from some species) which resembles a small pair of grappling hooks. Another feature of this family is the widely separated eyes, a feature shared with “Petaltail” dragonflies. Clubtails are more sensitive to cooler temperatures and tend not to fly on cool or overcast days.

Length: males 4.6—5.0 cm, females 4.4—4.5 cm. Males and females similar in colour pattern. The face is yellow-green striped with black, the eyes greenish-black or black and yellow. The top and sides of the thorax are pale green to green-yellow with a broad black lateral stripe on each side. The abdomen is nearly all black and narrow, with the tenth segment being the widest. Males have a broad, spiky abdominal tip. Females have slightly more yellow patterning on the abdomen (mid-dorsal line extends down to the seventh abdominal segment and lateral spotting is more extensive). The pterostigma (coloured, thickened cell on the leading edge of each wing membrane near the tip), is narrow and black. The 2.4 cm larvae (“nymphs”), have antennae with four segments, the third segment being half as wide as long. The abdomen is oval with a rounded, upturned tip and short lateral spines on the abdominal segments. Larvae burrow into substrate with just the abdominal tip protruding, using it to breathe by pumping water in and out through it.

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